All articles tagged with #authenticity
Miley Cyrus says Dolly Parton—her godmother—was authentic and real beyond the celebrity persona, explaining that Parton helped her navigate fame and the Hannah Montana era. Cyrus recalls their last conversation before Parton’s passing and credits Parton with grounding her and offering timeless wisdom about staying true to herself amid showmanship.
As recruiters shift to “quiet hiring” and job security loosens, LinkedIn is evolving from a simple résumé site to a essential career-networking hub for the entire workforce. Posting authentic, verifiable work and expertise can boost visibility and open doors beyond your current role, but you must present a professional, workplace-ready persona. The platform is also cracking down on AI-written “slop,” while rolling out AI job-matching and proofreading tools to improve quality, encouraging thoughtful, portfolio-like content over cringe-worthy posts.
Apple unveils the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, led by the 2nm A20 Pro chip with on-device AI acceleration and a wider memory interface, introducing iPhone Handoff across devices, AirPods 5 with longer battery life, and a photo-authenticity feature called Apple Reference Image plus a redesigned camera with a six-blade shutter; prices rise by $100 to start at $1,199 for the Pro and $1,299 for the Pro Max, with preorders underway and shipping September 18, while Siri AI debuts and new CEO John Ternus headlines the event amid market expectations and ongoing memory supply constraints.
WIRED profiles Pangram, a small Brooklyn AI-detection startup that scores how much a text is AI-generated using synthetic mirroring and hard negative mining. After high-profile AI-writing controversies and a Substack integration, Pangram markets itself as a trusted arbiter of originality across publishing and education, but critics warn of false positives and systemic biases against non-native writers, while the company stresses transparency and ongoing refinement.
Instagram is expanding its AI policy by introducing a distinct AI-generated profile label for accounts featuring AI-created personas, aiming to prevent deceptive impersonations. Accounts with AI-generated profiles must use the label or risk limited reach, while creators who use AI tools for editing or content creation without presenting as AI-generated don’t need the label. Users can check Account Status to see if they’re still eligible for recommendations. This move follows ongoing chatter and policy changes around AI on social platforms and backlash to related features.
Panda Express co-CEOs Andrew and Peggy Cherng say authenticity is subjective and that their chain’s label of American Chinese food reflects a cultural blend; they note that what’s popular is driven by guests, highlight orange chicken as the top seller, and describe the brand’s growth to more than 2,500 locations while maintaining a family-influenced, customer-driven approach.
AI-generated animal images and videos—aka AI slop—are making it hard to tell real rescue and pet stories from fakes, harming fundraising, trust, and safety. Groups like We Animals report skepticism around authentic content; incidents like a lost-cat scam show the risk of AI-driven misinformation. Researchers and lawmakers are pushing for safeguards: provenance/editing-history embedding, visible AI labels, and verification tools integrated into apps and browsers to help users verify authenticity while preserving legitimate animal storytelling.
An opinion piece criticizes two AI-generated marketing efforts for cameras: Xtra’s Muse gimbal campaign and Ricoh GR Europe’s AI-written night photography post. The author argues that selling cameras with ‘slop’ created by AI undercuts the product’s creative essence, offers real demos instead of synthetic footage, and questions the ethics and transparency of AI marketing. The piece notes regional differences in acceptance of AI in marketing and calls for authentic, credited work rather than fake visuals to truly showcase what cameras can do.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is giving followers a behind-the-scenes look at her life—including documenting her egg-freezing journey and a storage hiccup—arguing that voters crave authenticity. The Hill notes this fits a broader pattern as other Democratic hopefuls share personal moments (Gavin Newsom and Gretchen Whitmer swapping bar banter on a podcast; Pete Buttigieg engaging with a child on camera; Govs. Beshear and Moore highlighting everyday life) to appear relatable ahead of the 2028 race. Strategists say social media has blurred the line between voters and their representatives, signaling a shift from pedestal politics to one-of-us messaging in the run-up to the next presidential contest.
Gen Z has adopted 'polyester' as a label for content or fashion they view as generic or low-quality, a shift from the fabric’s negative associations to high-quality options. The term spread from fashion criticism to meme edits and parodies on TikTok and X (including ‘Polyester edits’ and merch jokes), signaling a broader concern with authenticity and not wanting to appear “try-hard” in the influencer era. Experts say this reflects Gen Z’s appetite for realness amid highly curated online personas.
USA TODAY debunks the viral claim that a 1982-D Small Date penny could be worth $18,000–$25,000, noting only two such coins have been publicly confirmed (2016 and 2019). The rarity stems from a transitional year when the Mint shifted from copper to zinc and created several penny varieties; the genuine 1982-D Small Date weighs 3.1 g, while common 1982 pennies weigh 2.5 g. With 10.7 billion pennies minted, unicorns like this are vanishingly rare, and many online listings misrepresent weight or mint details. Buyers should beware of scams on sites like eBay and prefer major auction houses with NGC holders; the safest bet for a “small date” is rolling 1982-D coins or mint bags, though the odds of finding one remain extremely slim.
Spotify will start labeling AI-generated artists with a new AI Persona badge from mid-September, flagging whether an artist’s identity may be AI-generated and not a real person. The badge will appear on profiles, in search results, and on playlist tracks, and such artists won’t show up in personalized recommendations unless followed. Spotify emphasizes this is about the artist’s public identity and trust, and it allows self-disclosure or appeal if needed, while also noting existing AI credits tools for artists.
Gen Z has embraced larping as a new insult for performative, inauthentic behavior online, a term now used across contexts from fitness trends to travel and gaming to call out fake personas and curb cringe, highlighting a broader concern with authenticity amid influencer culture and constant online comparison.
An opinion piece in The Daily Beast’s Royalist section argues Meghan Markle bungled her response to Martha Stewart’s comments about their California dinner, turning a feel-good Canada trip into a branding crisis. The author contrasts Martha’s decades-long authentic public persona with Meghan’s post‑Megxit branding, criticizing Meghan’s move to have People magazine push back as manipulative and suggesting she would be wiser to step back, let the dust settle, and rebuild a credible narrative rather than chase short‑term headlines.
Meghan Markle publicly refutes Martha Stewart’s claims about her Netflix homemaking show, saying Stewart’s account is untrue and that Meghan did not discuss the July Highgrove meeting at a recent dinner; observers say the exchange highlights ongoing scrutiny of Meghan’s authenticity as she pursues a lifestyle-influencer path, with comparisons to Stewart’s brand.